Editing Albany, New York (section)

===Plan of Union===
In 1754, representatives of seven [[British North America]]n colonies met in the ''[[Stadt Huys]]'', Albany's [[Albany City Hall|city hall]], for the [[Albany Congress]]; [[Benjamin Franklin]] of [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] presented the [[Albany Plan of Union]] there, which was the first formal proposal to unite the colonies.<ref name=rittner22>Rittner (2002), p. 22</ref> Although it was never adopted by [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]], it was an important precursor to the [[United States Constitution]].<ref name=mceneny12>McEneny (2006), p. 12</ref>{{efn|The Plan of Union's original intention was to unite the colonies in defense against aggressions of the French to the north; it was not an attempt to become independent from the British crown.<ref name=mceneny12/>|group=Note}} The same year, the [[French and Indian War]], the fourth in a [[French and Indian Wars|series of wars]] dating back to 1689, began. It ended in 1763 with [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|French defeat]], resolving a situation that had been a constant threat to Albany and held back its growth.<ref name=mceneny56>McEneny (2006), p. 56</ref>